All Four Quarters of the Moon by Shirley Marr

Everything so far, if Peijing had to sum it up, was a string of small awkward experiences that she hoped would end soon. 

The night of the Mid-Autumn festival, making mooncakes with Ah-Ma, was the last time Peijing remembers her life being the same. Now facing a new home, a new school and a new language, everything is different. Peijing thinks everything is going to turn out okay as long as they all have each other. 

But cracks are starting to appear in the family. Biju, lovable but annoying, needs Peijing to be the dependable big sister. Ah-Ma keeps forgetting who she is; and Ma Ma and Ba Ba are no longer themselves. Peijing has no idea how she's supposed to cope with the uncertainties of her own world while shouldering the burden of everyone else. If her family are the four quarters of the mooncake, where does she even fit in? 

A big-hearted, magical story about sisterhood and a family finding their way in a new place.

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The moon was still a thin smiling crescent. Where did the Jade Rabbit go when the moon was gone? If he was still there and looked down at her through the same window, would he think how perfect and warm her family looked from a distance, even though it was a little broken up close? Would the Jade Rabbit, so far away, really understand anyway? All sacrifices were different.

I don't think I can do this wonderful book justice, but I'll do my best. We follow Peijing and her family as they immigrate to Australia for her father's job; he has taken it specifically so that he can spend more time with his family, but at first no one is sure how they fit together in this new country with its strange traditions. They each have to learn how to relate to each other and how to act in a new world.

I love the stories woven through the narrative, and the Little World. I knew the stories presented here already, but Biju definitely puts her own spin on them! Hopefully it will lead to some readers trying to learn more about a fascinating mythology that doesn't get much attention over here.

I may have cried a little in spots reading this - the good kind of crying! I'm looking forward to sharing it with readers when it publishes.

All Four Quarters of the Moon publishes on the 5th of January, 2023 in the UK (top image) and on the 20th of June, 2023 in the US (lower image). I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.